A Panel Is Recommending HPV Vaccine For Young BOYS!

The HPV vaccine prevents STDs, and a federal advisory committee is now saying boys as young as 9-years-old should be protected! HollyMoms, would you have your sons vaccinated?

According to The New York Times, a federal advisory committee is now saying that 11 and 12-year-old boys should routinely be vaccinated against HPV (the human papillomavirus). The vaccine prevents anal, mouth and neck cancers that can result from sexual activity. According to the article, this recommendation could transform the use of the HPV vaccine!
Most private insurers pay for vaccines once the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends them for use. But the HPV vaccine is very expensive — three doses cost pediatricians more than $300!

HPV infection is the most common sexually transmitted disease. According to The New York Times, between 75% and 80% of women and men in the United States will be infected at some point! In some, infections can lead to cervical, vaginal and vulvar cancers in women and anal cancer in men, and evidence suggests that it causes mouth and throat cancer as a result of oral sex.

Currently, fewer than 1% of boys have received the vaccine, but under the new recommendation boys could be vaccinated as young as 9-years-old! Why so young? The vaccine loses effectiveness as teenagers and young adults become sexually active, and surveys have shown that more than one in five boys and girls have had vaginal sex by the age of 15!